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A Sinful History Of Forbidden Food
Ballantine Books
March 2003
On Sale: March 4, 2003
352 pages
ISBN: 0345440161
EAN: 9780345440167
Paperback
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Non-Fiction
Deliciously organized by the Seven Deadly Sins, here is a
scintillating history of forbidden foods through the
ages—and how these mouth-watering taboos have defined
cultures around the world.
From the lusciously
tempting fruit in the Garden of Eden to the divine foie
gras, Stewart Lee Allen engagingly illustrates that when
a pleasure as primal as eating is criminalized, there is
often an astonishing tale to tell. Among the foods thought
to encourage Lust, the love apple (now known as the tomato)
was thought to possess demonic spirits until the nineteenth
century. The Gluttony “course” invites the reader to an
ancient Roman dinner party where nearly every dish
served—from poppy-crusted rodents to “Trojan Pork”—was
considered a crime against the state. While the vice known
as Sloth introduces the sad story of “The Lazy Root” (the
potato), whose popularity in Ireland led British moralists
to claim that the Great Famine was God’s way of punishing
the Irish for eating a food that bred degeneracy and
idleness.
Filled with incredible food history and the
author’s travels to many of these exotic locales, In the
Devil’s Garden also features recipes like the matzo-ball
stews outlawed by the Spanish Inquisition and the forbidden
“chocolate champagnes” of the Aztecs. This is truly a
delectable book that will be consumed by food lovers,
culinary historians, amateur anthropologists, and armchair
travelers alike. Bon appétit!
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